


Dark

by SoDoRoses (FairyChess)



Series: LAOFT Extras [65]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Blood and Violence, Flashbacks, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Killing in Self Defense (mostly), M/M, Patton gets stabbed, Scary Virgil, Spooky Virgil, Virgil Kills People In This, Virgil gets stabbed too but he doesnt give a shit, if you dont like MC's doing a homicide please skip, its a lil bit vengeful but mostly self defense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-11-02 04:08:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20617049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyChess/pseuds/SoDoRoses
Summary: “The dark is generous, and it is patient, and it always wins,”- Matthew Stover





	Dark

**Author's Note:**

> For these prompts:
> 
> My dude,, pls give me fae virgil & logan and witch Roman protecting Patton because he’s the most mortal of them all
> 
> Just a prompt/request for laoft 💗- could be get a bit of Virgil whump ? Like he’s the sort of protector of the group, and it’d be nice to see the others look after him (we love a bit of whump+comfort lmao) , also I have no clue if fae can get sick, but I’m fairly sure they can get injured ? Love your writing, I look forward to your oneshots when they pop up 💗💗
> 
> okay,, so... i guess technically a prompt but also just,,, do the others ever forget that laoft virgil is a prince, like power-wise as well? Have there been any times when they’ve been harshly (?) reminded of this fact? ..(lowkey craving virge angst rn i’ve been scrolling through ao3 for ages lol)
> 
> For LAOFT, could you write about Virgil’s reaction the first time that Patton and Roman get injured while he’s around? You mentioned how Logan only got really upset when Roman broke his arm and I can’t imagine Virgil would react any better. I’m a sucker for overprotective Virgil.
> 
> can i get uhhh some SpOOKY virgil? like, freaky voice, Looming, Very Unseelie SpookY Virgil? i just. i love spooky virgil
> 
> All from anons! this one argued with me, but i hope yall like it!
> 
> And thanks to [@trivia-goddess](trivia-goddess.tumblr.com) for Beta-ing this installment!

It was Patton’s fault.

They’d all argue it wasn’t, he was sure, but _ he _ was the one who fell behind the rest of them, so easy to distract or bait it was ridiculous.

A picture on a tapestry, made of dozens of little shiny threads – he’d stopped short, turned to look.

Bell had only walked a couple steps ahead of him before she realized, spinning on her heel and making her way to stand next to him where she always did.

But a couple steps was enough.

Patton leaned closer to examine a bit of gold thread closer, and the tapestry lunged.

It was like getting bear hugged by one of Logan’s weighted blankets, or tackled by a straight jacket – everything went black, Patton’s arms pinned to his sides, and his stomach flipped with nausea when they rolled back from Bell.

His head finally came uncovered, spinning with dizziness, and in the scramble the other four had spread out. There were more fae around Patton, about as high as his knees – boggarts, maybe, definitely some kind of goblin.

Patton’s mouth was firmly covered – he kept quiet, because there was definitely something sharp and pointy and very unpleasant-feeling pressed right up against his collarbone and _ wow _ this was shaping up to be a terrible day.

Trying to get some kind of reassurance through just his eyes, Patton gave Logan, Virgil and Roman a half-hearted smile behind the hand. The fae shook him, and well, that was just rude.

“Please return the human,” said Logan, who was closest beside Bell, and the fae probably thought Logan sounded perfectly calm, but Patton could hear the ripple of panic just under the surface.

The goblins let out a chorus of screeching laughter.

“We are not interested in an altercation,” said Logan, ignoring Bell’s scoff, “This is unnecessary and foolhardy. If you would simply let him go-”

“If you let him go,” said Virgil, cocking his head and looking over Patton’s shoulder at whoever had him held, “I will kill you quickly,”

Roman, next to him, already looked pale, but he didn’t flinch – he was watching Patton like he might pop like a soap bubble if he looked away. Patton tried another smile and got another shake for his efforts.

And then Patton did something really stupid, which was kick the fae in the shin.

Logan lunged the same moment the knife dug in, and Patton did his best to contain his pained noise and did not succeed at all. One of the boggarts tripped Logan up with a tiny knife to the ankle.

Virgil and Roman were furthest away, but Patton’s skin was starting to crawl anyway. The shadows along the edges of the walls were rippling, and the hairs on the back of Patton’s neck stood up. 

“I think you won’t do anything, actually,” said the fae behind Patton, “Shouldn’t get so attached to such fragile toys, _ your highness _,”

“What do you even want?” said Roman, putting on one of those false smiles that always made Patton’s stomach turn, “I mean, you’ve not made any demands so far, if you’re trying for a ransom you’re doing a piss-poor job,”

“Not too much,” snickered one of the goblins, “Just some proof, proof, proof, and look we have it!”

“Proof?”

“That the princeling isn’t so frightening if you cut his legs out from under him,”

Letting out another hair-raising cackle, one of the boggarts threw a knife at Roman, and Virgil caught it with a snap of his wrist and dropped it. Patton could see the red on his palm – blood.

Patton was of the opinion that the Unseelie around him were very, very stupid, because the air was starting to smell like ozone – and while Patton was _ sure _ Virgil would never hurt him on purpose, he was getting a little worried he was just a pinch too close to the _ target _.

So it was really a good they _ were _ stupid – for Patton, at least – because Virgil’s lack of movement had made the fae holding him confident enough to loosen his grip. Patton thought it was only fair he got to bite him, after the stabbing thing.

The second his mouth was free Patton spat out a hurried “Let go of me,” and it wasn’t _ quite _ strong enough to work perfectly on a fae – Patton was getting better, but he wasn’t that good yet – but it was for his grip to loosen enough for Patton to twist away.

Lunging past the goblins, Bell grabbed Patton by the wrist and yanked him behind her. Logan reached up, pulling Patton down, and practically before Patton had blinked a cage of thorns had closed around them.

* * *

Logan felt like he was going to vibrate out of his skin.

“You good in there?” Roman called.

“Yes,” Logan shouted back.

“Good,” said Virgil lightly, and then the entire hallway was engulfed in inky blackness.

The temperature plummeted, and Logan pushed a little closer to Patton, shivering. He tried to block out the sounds coming from outside – a shriek from a goblin cut off into a wet choking noise, clashing blades and what sounded nauseatingly like _ crunching _. 

“Wait, wait, _ wait- _”

“**No**,”

Logan shuddered at the final stomach-turning gurgle, and then it was quiet.

“Well,” came Bell’s bright voice, “I’ll be completely honest - I felt a little useless just now,”

“You killed that one,” said Roman, his voice cracking. Bell ignored it, and Logan ought to be grateful but he was mostly just trying to keep his head from spinning.

“Not that much of a dent, pretty boy,” she said dryly. “Little Bird, Spring. Will you come out of your cozy bush?”

Logan shifted, still shivering- no. Not shivering. Just shaking.

“Sweetie?” said Patton, tentative.

“I don-”

Logan made a weak noise, tucking his face in Patton’s neck.

“I doubt- I doubt the thorns will come… down, at this moment,”

Someone came closer, and when Logan glanced out of the gaps he could just barely make out Roman’s features.

“Hey, Pokey and the Brain,” he said quietly.

“Hello, dear,” said Logan.

“We’re all safe now,” said Roman, and he half-sounded like he was trying to convince himself as well, “You can come out,”

Logan swallowed.

Through the boughs, he saw Roman tentatively place his hand on the exterior of their little cage, between the long thorns – Logan shivered again.

“We’re all safe, babe,” Roman said, quiet, “Come out? For me?”

Slowly, the branches shifted, creeping backward. After about a minute, it had opened like a clam shell, and Logan saw Patton gave Roman tremulous smile.

“There’s my pretty boyfriends,” said Roman, reaching for Logan’s face. Logan leaned into it, though he didn’t release his grip on Patton.

“Well,” said Patton, “I dunno about _ you _ but I didn’t like that one bit,”

“You got _ stabbed _ , and your response is ‘I didn’t like that,’” said Roman, some of his color returning as he shook his head, “You should be _ much _ more concerned, Goldilocks,”

“Just a little bit stabbed,” said Patton fairly.

“There is no ‘a little bit stabbed,’” said Logan testily, “It is a zero-sum game, one is stabbed or not stabbed and you were very much _ stabbed _,”

“Aaaaand now it doesn’t sound like a word anymore,”

“_ Patton, _”

“Regardless!” Roman cut in, “You were, in fact, stabbed, and we’re going to attend to that before we do literally anything else,”

“It’s really not that bad,” Patton insisted, “it’s more of scrape than anything. One of V’s little lidocaine kisses and I’ll be fine, honest,”

Which was about the time Logan noticed that one of their number was decidedly absent.

He looked across the hall, to where Virgil was standing, facing them but with his shoulders angled away. His face was completely expressionless.

“Wh- V?” he said.

Virgil hummed.

“… What are you doing all the way over there?” said Patton, baffled.

Virgil didn’t answer, but he did cross over to them – much slower than normal, almost ginger, and still not looking back. He gestured to Patton’s shoulder.

“May I?” he said tonelessly.

“I- yes?” said Patton, “But- honey are you _ okay? _”

Virgil ignored him again, and Logan’s heart rate picked up with worry – leaning in, Virgil brushed his mouth feather-light against Patton’s collar, before immediately retreating and putting a good three feet between them.

“Find them a healer,” he snapped at Bell, who startled, and then he stepped back one more time, into the shadow cast by the torch on the wall, and disappeared.

“What the _ fuck? _” said Logan immediately.

“Oh, he- he did _ not _ just bail on us after that!” Roman exclaimed. 

“I believe that is precisely what just happened,”

“Something’s wrong,” said Patton, worrying his lip, “I- he wouldn’t have left like that if something wasn’t wrong,”

Bell was looking at the spot Virgil had disappeared with a confused frown.

“So that _ was _ weird, then? It wasn’t just me?”

“Definitely not,” said Roman, frowning.

Bell’s face mirrored it.

“I- can’t just ignore him, you know that,”

Roman considered.

“Technically,” he said, “V didn’t say that was the _ first _ thing you had to do,”

Bell’s mouth ticked up.

“Knew there was a reason we got along,”

* * *

Bell left them at the end of Virgil’s hallway, and Roman lead them down.

Logan hadn’t let go of Patton, still, and Patton had his hand resting gently between Roman’s shoulder blades.

It was grounding – soothing, at the same time – but it wasn’t quite enough to calm the tremble in Roman’s hands.

He felt useless. He’d frozen, and Patton had gotten hurt and Logan had been terrified and all Roman had done was cower behind Virgil because he’d gone dizzy with terror the second Bell had drawn her sword and it had only gotten worse from there. 

Some knight.

He couldn’t even look at Patton without his stomach turning with the guilt. Roman half wanted to shake off his hand, because he certainly wasn’t the person who needed or _ deserved _ comforting in this situation, but he knew it would only hurt Patton’s feelings.

He rapped firmly on Virgil’s door. The shuffling inside stopped immediately.

“Verge?” he called.

A long silence, then - 

“I- Roman?”

Roman pulled back from the door a little.

Virgil – he sounded _ confused. _ And a little suspicious. 

“Who else, babe?” said Roman, “Pat and Lo are here, too,”

Virgil didn’t answer.

Patton pushed forward.

“Sweetheart, unless you give me a _ real _ good reason not to open this door right now we’re coming in,”

One more pause, and then the door clicked open. Virgil still hadn’t said anything.

They filed in, and Logan shut it firmly behind them – Virgil was sitting in the chair at the desk, facing away.

“Virgil?”

Logan’s hesitant call got only a hum of acknowledgement.

“Okay,” said Roman sharply, “What the hell is your problem?”

Virgil’s shoulder, barely visible around the high back of the chair, curled forward. Roman’s irritation swirled with worry.

“I- V, babe, c’mon,” he said, moving forward, “Why are you-”

Roman came around the chair, and felt like someone punched him the throat.

“_ Virgil, what the hell,” _ he choked, dropping to his knees and pressing his hands over Virgil’s, covering the wound in his side. Virgil was saying something but Roman couldn’t hear it over the roaring of his own blood in his ears, blood, blood, Virgil was bleeding and there was so _ much _ of it-

“Roman, calm down,”

Some of the pressure in his chest released, like letting a little of the air out of a balloon. Patton had his hands on Roman shoulders, his face hidden in Roman’s neck – even as his voice hummed in the air around Roman’s head, gentling the fear, Patton himself was trembling like an autumn leaf.

Logan had yanked off the flannel he was wearing, coaxing their hands away so he could stem the bleeding.

“It’s okay,” said Virgil, his quiet voice finally breaking through the haze of panic that had overcome Roman, “It’s not as bad as it looks. A few hours and it should be gone,”

“And you, what?” snapped Logan, “Intended to come in here and leave it until it did so? When you demanded Bell get a healer for us for wounds that are not a _ fraction _ of this severity?”

“Patton is human,”

“And I am _ not! _” Logan snarled, “How do you justify prioritizing me over you?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, throwing open his messenger bag and pulling a first aid kit from its depths with his free hand.

“This isn’t necessary,” said Virgil, his voice flat and gruff, “You don’t have to stay,”

“_ Have to? _” Patton said incredulously, “What are you even-”

Closing his eyes, Patton took a deep breath.

“I really hate to sound like a jerk here,” he said, carefully even, “But seriously, did you hit your head?”

“No,” said Virgil.

“Then what the fuck has _ possessed you-” _ Roman spat, “-that you think there is _ anything _ that could make us leave you right now?”

Logan was muttering darkly – Roman could only make out every third word or so, but it sounded like he was trying to figure out if Virgil could get an infection.

And Virgil- Virgil just look utterly, impossibly confused. And a little miserable, honestly. That swirling mix of worry and anger grew in Roman’s chest.

“Virgil, honey, _ please _,” said Patton, “Why did you leave?”

Virgil turned the pained expression on Patton. He swallowed.

“I scared you,”

All three of them paused.

“What?” said Logan, confused.

Slowly, like he thought Patton would startle, Virgil hooked his finger around the gold chain of Patton’s necklace.

“When I killed them,” he said weakly, “I didn’t- I was so angry they hurt you, it was all I could think about and-”

The ringing had come back to Roman’s ears.

“We weren’t scared,” said Patton, baffled, “I mean, scared of the goblins, and the other guy, yeah, but- I could never be afraid of you, honey,”

“I also do not know where you got the impression that it was you who was alarming us in the hallway,” said Logan, “_ Obviously _ it was not you,”

Roman’s hands were still smeared with blood, tacky and starting to dry. He could feel Logan and Patton watching him expectantly, but he didn’t feel it near as much the weight of the _ absence _ of Virgil’s gaze.

“I’m not afraid of you,” said Roman thickly.

He watched Virgil’s throat bob, his expression twisting with misery.

“Not right now,” he said, “But you were,”

* * *

Logan and Patton looked horrified, and Virgil tried to keep his voice level when he spoke.

“I thought… it would be better to give you space,” he continued, “Somewhere safe, with- with Pat and L,”

_ Without me _ went unspoken, but Virgil knew Roman had heard it.

Roman had been scared the whole time, but it was only right at the end it had shifted to Virgil. Only the barest moment, but it had been enough to douse Virgil’s rage like a bucket of ice water on a single match.

“You’re wrong,” said Roman.

“I’m not u…” 

Well, no – Virgil _ was _ upset, obviously, but-

“I don’t blame you,” said Virgil, “I understand,”

Understood that Virgil was something dark and dangerous, and he _ knew _ that, they all did – and that Roman was mostly human, fireproof or not. That there was always going to be a part of Roman that instinctively saw Virgil as a predator. As something that could hurt him – not someone he loved.

It didn’t matter that Virgil wouldn’t, would never – _ could _ never. _ Fear _ wasn’t soothed by _ promises _, no matter how truthfully Virgil made them.

And that… that was just something Virgil was going to have to learn to deal with. Especially because he knew they’d be in the same situation next time – he just didn’t think he had it in him to respond to a threat like that with anything other than _ destroying it _so it could never hurt one of his loves again.

“No, Virgil, you _ don’t _ understand,”

“Roman...”

“I wasn’t afraid of you,”

Virgil sighed. He just barely gestured to the beaded bracelet on Roman’s wrist – no sudden movements, don’t _ grab _ at him, don’t stare-

“Virgil,” Roman pleaded, “Virgil, please look at me?”

Virgil held his breath around the lump in his throat and looked down at Roman, as calm as he could manage.

Roman looked – he looked like he always looked. Stunning, and warm, and his face the perfect shape for Virgil to cradle and kiss the frown off his lips. Virgil’s fingers itched with it, and he made fists on his knees.

“I was not afraid of you,” said Roman, slow and firm.

Virgil shook his head, glancing at the bracelet again, but Roman cut him off before he could protest.

“I know, I _ know _, okay, I-”

Roman looked absolutely miserable.

“It- it wasn’t _ you _ ,” he said desperately, “It- all of it, together, the… the fight, and Belladonna, and the- it was the _ noise _ and I got- stuck in my head, and-”

He squeezed his eyes shut.

“I just- I had a flashback and I’m _ sorry _-”

“Do not apologize for that,” said Logan.

“It isn’t your fault,” Virgil agreed firmly.

“But that doesn’t make it _ yours _,” Roman snapped.

He moved like he wanted to take Virgil’s hands, and then remembered they were both of them tacky with blood.

“Okay, yes, that last- the last fae, when he died, I freaked out,” Roman admitted.

“When I killed him,” said Virgil, because he _ had _; because there would be no pretending otherwise. 

“_ Good, _” said Roman.

The room went completely still.

And, well. Virgil hadn’t actually been expecting that.

“… What do you mean?”

“I mean _ good,” _ said Roman, “They attacked us. They hurt Patton. You protected us, just like you always do, and that’s _ good, _”

“But-”

“And the whole time,” Roman cut him off, “I stayed behind you because I- I _ knew _ I couldn’t help and I knew you would keep me safe,”

“Of _ course _,”

“That, _ that _ right there, Virgil!” said Roman, “How could I be afraid of you?”

“You know what I _ am _, Roman,”

“Okay, so what!” he snapped, “I mean – I’ve also had one because Dizzy knocked over a glass, do you think I’m _ actually _ scared of my own familiar? She’s a house cat who weighs like _ eight pounds. _ They don’t make sense, and they don’t _ mean _ anything about- about you, or me, or _ us _. They don’t mean anything at all,”

He seemed to decide the blood didn’t matter then, squeezing Virgil’s hands in his.

“I’m not afraid of Dizzy, or Mamaw, or- fucking _Remy,_ or _anybody_ who gets tripped up in the minefield I’ve got going on in my head. _Least_ of all you,”

Roman glared up at him, unwavering and blazing with defiance.

Slowly, Virgil turned his hands over in Roman’s, waving the blood away. He gripped him back.

“Okay,” he said softly, “I believe you,”

“You fucking better,” Roman grumbled, breaking their eye contact, “And no more of the- noble and self-sacrificing bullshit, that’s my thing,”

“Roman,” said Logan sharply.

“Bad joke, sorry,”

He kissed the back of Virgil’s hand.

“But really,” he murmured, “You don’t have to run. You’re not _ allowed _ to run, frankly, I will _ chase you down _ if I have to, Mr. Lord of the Forest,”

“Seconded,” said Logan the same moment Patton let out a prim “Yeah, pretty much,”

Virgil snorted, moving forward to catch Roman’s mouth with his.

Except he had, well, a hole in his side, so instead he just leaned forward a little and let out a pained grunt when it angrily reminded him of its presence.

Which led to an entire round of fretting, mostly from Logan shredding his now-ruined flannel into a makeshift bandage to keep the pressure on while Virgil’s skin knitted back together, and Patton and Roman alternating between nervous hovering and what could only be described as _ scolding _.

They bullied him into the bed, piling gingerly around him, and Roman…

Roman laid right up against Virgil chest, face pressed into Virgil’s neck. Where Virgil’s hand lay on his side, Roman’s pulse was slow and metronome steady and completely unafraid.

“Thank you,” he said, only half-sure of what he was thanking them for.

“You’re welcome,” said Logan, his hand light on the side of Virgil’s neck.

“No problem, sweetie,”

Roman tilted his head back to brush their noses together.

“No running,” he said quietly.

Virgil smiled.

“Alright. No running,”

And with that, Virgil let the heartbeat-rhythm finally lull him into a doze.

**Author's Note:**

> The first Unseelie fae/creature described in this story is an Rumptifusel, a creature of lumberjack legend I’ve interpreted as a type of pooka. In the original folklore it ties itself around trees and resembles a fur coat, but I've sort of expanded it here as just camouflage-as-cloth, and as a pooka it also has a humanoid form
> 
> you can also find me at [@tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors](tulipscomeinallsortsofcolors.tumblr.com) over on tumblr and im not taking prompts rn but feel free to send me asks about the verse if you like!


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